Releford 'good to go' with ankle

Published: Tuesday, January 22, 2013 at 3:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, January 22, 2013 at 12:05 a.m.

TUSCALOOSA | University of Alabama point guard Trevor Releford, who missed one game last week because of an ankle sprain and did not start in last Saturday's victory over Texas A&M before coming off the bench to score 15 second-half points, said Monday that he feels "good to go" for tonight's game against Kentucky.

UK, meanwhile, may be without 7-foot freshman Willie Cauley-Stein, a friend of Releford's since both played high school basketball in the Kansas City area.

"Willie is a good friend of mine," Releford said. "We didn't play together on the same team, but we played a lot of pick-up games, things like that. I hope he has healed up (from a knee sprain) and will be out on the floor (tonight)."

Alabama recruited Cauley-Stein, but he opted for the Wildcats. While he was not considered to be a top-10 prospect, his preinjury play for UK now has him rated as a possible lottery pick in the 2013 NBA Draft.

On target

Kentucky will present a significant challenge for Alabama's perimeter defense with 3-point shooters Kyle Wiltjer and Julius Mays, but it may come as a surprise, even to Alabama fans, that the best 3-point shooter in the game, statistically speaking, plays for the Crimson Tide.

Trevor Lacey currently leads the Southeastern Conference in 3-point shooting percentage, hitting 35 of 77 3-pointers (45.5 percent). As a team, Alabama is third in the SEC in 3-point percentage, making 36.3 percent (101 of 278) of its attempts.

"He is a sophomore now, which means he has had a year and a half of college competition," Grant said. "That means he has a better understanding of the game and what is expected of him."

Senior Bowl weigh-in

Five Alabama football players weighed in Monday at the Senior Bowl in Mobile.

Offensive tackle D.J. Fluker came in at 6-foot-47?8 and 335 pounds. He was one of two players invited to the Senior Bowl this year after entering the NFL Draft following his junior season. Both Fluker and offensive lineman Justin Pugh of Syracuse have spent four years on campus and graduated.

Linebacker Nico Johnson came in at 6-17?8 and 249 pounds. Safety Robert Lester measured 6-11?4 and 212 pounds, with tight end Michael Williams tipping the scales at 269 and standing 6-53?4. Snapper Carson Tinker was a shade over the 6-foot mark and 231 pounds.

Fluker did not practice Monday, citing a minor injury and will not play in the game Saturday. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. The game will be televised on NFL Network.

UA gymnasts move up

The Alabama gymnastics team rose one spot in the national rankings to No. 5 after the Crimson Tide's 196.575 to 195.525 win over the LSU Tigers on Friday.

The Michigan Wolverines jumped to No. 1 in the country, followed by Oklahoma, Florida and UCLA. LSU dropped to No. 7, with Nebraska (6), Utah (8), Georgia (9) and Stanford (10) rounding out the top 10.

Alabama jumped four spots to No. 2 on vault, held steady at sixth on uneven bars and fourth on balance beam, and fell all the way to No. 13 on floor exercise after counting a fall in Friday's meet.

Individually, sophomore Kayla Williams and junior Diandra Milliner are tied for fourth nationally on vault. Junior Sarah DeMeo is ranked second on the uneven bars, while junior Kim Jacob is ranked eighth on balance beam.

New faces powering UA track

More than 20 newcomers have made their Alabama debuts for the Crimson Tide in the first two indoor meets of the season, with a handful already winning events.

Ken Taylor, a transfer from Benedict College, was the 2012 NCAA Division II Men's Track Athlete of the Year for the South Region before transferring to Alabama. Taylor, from Spartanburg, S.C., has won the 800 meters in both meets this season.

At last weekend's Auburn Indoor Invitational, freshman Justin Fondren won the men's high jump at 6-foot-101?4. Another freshman, Elias Hakansson, won the men's weight throw with a distance of 63-101?2. Fondren hails from Oxford, Miss., while Hakansson is from Halmsted, Sweden.

The influx of talent continued last Wednesday when coach Dan Waters announced the addition of five scholarship student-athletes to the program, all of them junior college transfers who are eligible to compete immediately: men's distance specialist Matt Airola and men's sprinter Diondre Batson of American River College in Sacramento, Calif., women's thrower Candicea Bernard of Central Arizona College, men's sprinter Akeem Haynes of Barton County Community College of Great Bend, Kan., and women's sprinter Yanique Malcolm of Essex County Community College of Newark, N.J.

Valuing possession

The Alabama women's basketball team ranks No. 2 in the nation in turnover margin, forcing 8.7 more turnovers per game than it commits. This is a drastic improvement over last season's team, which averaged 1.8 fewer turnovers than its competition.

The Alabama women's tennis doubles team of senior Alexa Guarachi and junior Mary Anne Macfarlane begin the 2013 season ranked No. 2 nationally. Guarachi has achieved this feat with two partners, as she was ranked second nationally with Courtney McLane in 2010.

The Alabama men's tennis team opened its 2013 season with a pair of 7-0 victories last weekend under first-year coach George Husack, marking the first time the Crimson Tide has posted back-to-back shutouts to start the season since 2003.

<p>TUSCALOOSA | University of Alabama point guard Trevor Releford, who missed one game last week because of an ankle sprain and did not start in last Saturday's victory over Texas A&M before coming off the bench to score 15 second-half points, said Monday that he feels "good to go" for tonight's game against Kentucky.</p><p>"I have been doing what the trainers tell me, rehabbing it," Releford said. "It feels fine."</p><p>UK, meanwhile, may be without 7-foot freshman Willie Cauley-Stein, a friend of Releford's since both played high school basketball in the Kansas City area.</p><p>"Willie is a good friend of mine," Releford said. "We didn't play together on the same team, but we played a lot of pick-up games, things like that. I hope he has healed up (from a knee sprain) and will be out on the floor (tonight)."</p><p>Alabama recruited Cauley-Stein, but he opted for the Wildcats. While he was not considered to be a top-10 prospect, his preinjury play for UK now has him rated as a possible lottery pick in the 2013 NBA Draft.</p><p><b>On target</b></p><p>Kentucky will present a significant challenge for Alabama's perimeter defense with 3-point shooters Kyle Wiltjer and Julius Mays, but it may come as a surprise, even to Alabama fans, that the best 3-point shooter in the game, statistically speaking, plays for the Crimson Tide.</p><p>Trevor Lacey currently leads the Southeastern Conference in 3-point shooting percentage, hitting 35 of 77 3-pointers (45.5 percent). As a team, Alabama is third in the SEC in 3-point percentage, making 36.3 percent (101 of 278) of its attempts.</p><p>UA coach Anthony Grant, asked about Lacey on Monday's SEC coaches' teleconference, attributed Lacey's improvement to maturity.</p><p>"He is a sophomore now, which means he has had a year and a half of college competition," Grant said. "That means he has a better understanding of the game and what is expected of him."</p><p><b>Senior Bowl weigh-in</b></p><p>Five Alabama football players weighed in Monday at the Senior Bowl in Mobile.</p><p>Offensive tackle D.J. Fluker came in at 6-foot-47?8 and 335 pounds. He was one of two players invited to the Senior Bowl this year after entering the NFL Draft following his junior season. Both Fluker and offensive lineman Justin Pugh of Syracuse have spent four years on campus and graduated.</p><p>Linebacker Nico Johnson came in at 6-17?8 and 249 pounds. Safety Robert Lester measured 6-11?4 and 212 pounds, with tight end Michael Williams tipping the scales at 269 and standing 6-53?4. Snapper Carson Tinker was a shade over the 6-foot mark and 231 pounds.</p><p>Fluker did not practice Monday, citing a minor injury and will not play in the game Saturday. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. The game will be televised on NFL Network.</p><p><b>UA gymnasts move up</b></p><p>The Alabama gymnastics team rose one spot in the national rankings to No. 5 after the Crimson Tide's 196.575 to 195.525 win over the LSU Tigers on Friday.</p><p>The Michigan Wolverines jumped to No. 1 in the country, followed by Oklahoma, Florida and UCLA. LSU dropped to No. 7, with Nebraska (6), Utah (8), Georgia (9) and Stanford (10) rounding out the top 10.</p><p>Alabama jumped four spots to No. 2 on vault, held steady at sixth on uneven bars and fourth on balance beam, and fell all the way to No. 13 on floor exercise after counting a fall in Friday's meet.</p><p>Individually, sophomore Kayla Williams and junior Diandra Milliner are tied for fourth nationally on vault. Junior Sarah DeMeo is ranked second on the uneven bars, while junior Kim Jacob is ranked eighth on balance beam.</p><p><b>New faces powering UA track</b></p><p>More than 20 newcomers have made their Alabama debuts for the Crimson Tide in the first two indoor meets of the season, with a handful already winning events.</p><p>Ken Taylor, a transfer from Benedict College, was the 2012 NCAA Division II Men's Track Athlete of the Year for the South Region before transferring to Alabama. Taylor, from Spartanburg, S.C., has won the 800 meters in both meets this season.</p><p>At last weekend's Auburn Indoor Invitational, freshman Justin Fondren won the men's high jump at 6-foot-101?4. Another freshman, Elias Hakansson, won the men's weight throw with a distance of 63-101?2. Fondren hails from Oxford, Miss., while Hakansson is from Halmsted, Sweden.</p><p>The influx of talent continued last Wednesday when coach Dan Waters announced the addition of five scholarship student-athletes to the program, all of them junior college transfers who are eligible to compete immediately: men's distance specialist Matt Airola and men's sprinter Diondre Batson of American River College in Sacramento, Calif., women's thrower Candicea Bernard of Central Arizona College, men's sprinter Akeem Haynes of Barton County Community College of Great Bend, Kan., and women's sprinter Yanique Malcolm of Essex County Community College of Newark, N.J.</p><p><b>Valuing possession</b></p><p>The Alabama women's basketball team ranks No. 2 in the nation in turnover margin, forcing 8.7 more turnovers per game than it commits. This is a drastic improvement over last season's team, which averaged 1.8 fewer turnovers than its competition.</p><p>Alabama is 11-7 overall, 1-4 in SEC play. The Crimson Tide will host Auburn at 8 p.m. Thursday at Foster Auditorium.</p><p><b>Fast start for tennis teams</b></p><p>The Alabama women's tennis doubles team of senior Alexa Guarachi and junior Mary Anne Macfarlane begin the 2013 season ranked No. 2 nationally. Guarachi has achieved this feat with two partners, as she was ranked second nationally with Courtney McLane in 2010.</p><p>The Alabama men's tennis team opened its 2013 season with a pair of 7-0 victories last weekend under first-year coach George Husack, marking the first time the Crimson Tide has posted back-to-back shutouts to start the season since 2003.</p><p><i>Marc Torrence and Chase Goodbread contributed to this report.</i></p>